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Let’s photograph the transit of Venus

On June 5, (or June 6, depending on your Geo-location) the lovely and beautiful Venus will pop up in-between the Earth and the Sun, eclipsing a tiny portion (1/32 the size of the solar disk) of the Sun. The rarest of all eclipses, known as the “Transit of Venus,” last happened in 2004. So, you may think — why is it labeled “rare,” as it is repeating after only 8 years (not so significant compared to the average human life-span)? Well, it is predicted that the next transit will only happen again in December 2117 which is about 105 years from now, making this transit of Venus the last one of this century. As it turns out, this rare celestial event is also one of the most accurately predictable one! The transits happen in pairs which are separated by 8 years and the pattern of paired-transit itself repeats every 243 years.

I love photographing rare astronomical events (Check out my post An experience of a lifetime: Witnessing the longest Solar Eclipse of 21st Century and a photo of “Super Moon“). It was obvious that I will try to make some photographs of one of the rarest astronomical events (provided the weather is kind). However, I thought that it will not only be very selfish of me to post some pictures of the event after it is over; it will be more fun and engaging if we can collaborate to share our thoughts, ideas, experiences and photographs and celebrate this experience together. So I decided to create a “multi-author blog” (instead of posting in my personal blog) which will be authored by anyone interested in the topic. I strongly believe that sharing is the best way of learning and expanding our knowledge. I would like to invite you to the blog (dedicated to the jointly sharing the experience of the transit of Venus, 2012) called Photographing Transit Of Venus 2012. I also hope that you will become a part of this shared experience by joining the collaboration if you like the site and the idea of shared experience appeals to you.